|
Sioux City Fire Department Purchases Res-Q-Jack |
|
|
|
Walking up to the maroon Subaru sitting on its side, Bob Sandry grabs hold and rocks the car back and forth."I could probably push this over," he said.
Accidents in which cars like the Subaru end up on their sides or on their tops pose the biggest risk to the safety of emergency responders and those trapped inside the vehicle, Sandry said. The vehicles are unstable and can topple over while extracting patients.
With new equipment, the Sioux City Fire Department hopes to eliminate that danger.
Sandry spent Wednesday at a lot near PQ Auto Salvage, 3240 31st St., using junk vehicles to train firefighters on the Res-Q-Jack, technically called a slide rail strut system. In simpler terms, it's a tube within a tube that braces the vehicle to keep it from moving. The system is gaining popularity in the Midwest after being introduced on the East and West coasts six-eight years ago, Sandry said.
After firefighters placed the jacks on each side of the Subaru, Sandry again walked up to the car and shook it. The car barely moved.
"It's a whole lot safer to work on now," said Sandry, a firefighter for 20 years and owner of Sandry Fire Supply of DeWitt, Iowa, which sold the equipment to the Sioux City Fire Department.
Each of the department's two rescue vehicles will be equipped with the Res-Q-Jack. It will be an improvement over the blocks, wedges and other jacks firefighters have used to stabilize vehicles.
"There have been numerous times where I've been at a scene and it would have been nice to have this," Capt. Mike McClennen said. "It's one of those things where you don't use it all the time, but when you need it, it's nice to have it."
Firefighters also practiced using the Res-Q-Jack on a vehicle stuck on top of another and a vehicle lying on its top. |
|
In The News 
